44

The moment Leila Warner stepped off the plane, the heat and humidity assaulted her, and a sheen of perspiration coated her skin. By the time she made her way through the terminal to the taxi stand, she felt like a damp rag that someone had mopped the floor with.

She longed for a refreshing shower, crisp cotton sheets, and a decent night’s sleep, but knew they were luxuries she could not afford. The cruise would be coming in at four, and she only had time to make it to the marina if she went straight away.

She hopped into the first available cab, and was pleased to discover it was air conditioned. “The Marlin Marina,” she told the driver quickly, as if her sense of urgency might spur him on. She had no time for the airport traffic, or idle chit-chat, or anything at all that would delay her meeting the man she’d come here to see.

She was stressed to the breaking point, but who wouldn’t be in her circumstances? She’d flown thirty hours to get to Cairns, Queensland, and urgency may have driven her, but fear had been the fuel. Until she found her brother-in-law, she wouldn’t rest.

The cab driver’s Aussie accent, as charming as it was, was hard work for her foggy brain to comprehend. “You here for a few days, luv? You want me to show you around?”

“Thanks, but no.” Despite the sleep deprivation, she noticed how lush and green everything looked. Purple flowering vines coiled around the thick branches of trees like giant snakes, and moisture dripped from the leaves.

“That’s the rainforest, luv.” He glanced back at her in his rearview mirror. “I recommend you take the scenic railway to Kuranda, or go by skyrail. It’s well worth the trip.”

“I’m sure it is, but I won’t be here long enough.” She looked away from the rainforest and watched the shoreline instead. The white sand was enough to dazzle her tired eyes, and the turquoise waves sparkled as bright as any jewel. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, her voice raw from lack of sleep.

“That it is. Don’t think an artist could paint it better.”

She didn’t reply, and he tried again. “You’ll have to visit the zoo and see the cuddly koalas up close,” he said with a friendly smile. “And, of course, you’ll want to see our crocodiles.”

“Oh, yes, that’s big on my list,” Leila replied, and shut her eyes, feigning sleep.

“No worries.” The driver took the hint and stopped talking, allowing her time to think.

What was she going to say to this brother-in-law she’d never met? The black sheep of the family, whose own parents didn’t have a good thing to say about him? The only solid fact she knew about him was that her husband’s brother, Ryan, had been charged with murder at the age of twenty-one.

Jail changed men, and he’d been in a maximum security prison cell with a bunch of hardened criminals for three and a half years before his release. New DNA evidence had given him a get-out-of-jail card, but what had those years done to him? What if he was so soured by the kick-in-the-pants life had dealt him that he’d refuse to help? What would she do?

Leila released a long sigh. She’d learned the hard way that there was no sense in worrying about something that might or might not happen. There was plenty enough to worry about without inventing new reasons.

Once she told Ryan, surely he would be eager to comply. What man wouldn’t want to do the right thing and save his deceased brother’s child?

She gnawed on her fingernail, then looked at them with disgust. In the past few days she’d destroyed nail after nail, a clear indication of the stress she was under.

The cab pulled up to a wharf. “Here you are, luv. The Marlin Marina.” The driver flashed a grin. “You like fishing? I swear, the reef has the most beautiful fish in the world. Almost too pretty too eat.”

Leila shook her head. “No, I’m not here to fish.” She paid the man and stepped out into the tropical heat. It was late August, the end of summer in Princeton, New Jersey, but since everything was upside down here, that meant it was going on spring in Australia. It was also so damned hot, it stole her breath away.

Trickles of sweat slid down her throat and chest, into her bra. Her jeans clung to her legs like two dead weights. She thought of her shorts or her skirt in her bag, and could almost feel the soft breeze floating around her legs. Did she have time to change? No. What if she missed him? She’d have to wait an entire day